Luise Rainer

Biography

Luise Rainer was an Austrian actress born in Germany, celebrated for her remarkable career in film and theater. She began performing at the age of 16, gaining prominence through Max Reinhardt's stage productions. Rainer caught the attention of MGM while touring Europe and soon became known as a rising star, earning comparisons to Greta Garbo and Katharine Hepburn. She won her first Academy Award for her role in The Great Ziegfeld (1936) and made history by winning a second consecutive Oscar for The Good Earth (1937), becoming the first actress to achieve this feat. After a series of less successful films, Rainer withdrew from Hollywood, later returning to the stage before retiring. She spent her later years in England with her second husband, Robert Knittel. Rainer made a brief return to acting in the 1980s and passed away on December 30, 2014, in London at the age of 104.